It's amazing how things can change in just a short span of time. The high school term is not yet over, and only a few quarters have gone by, but so many things have altered. The number of students getting higher grades has increased, more and more people are taking part in school activities and after-school programs, and of course, several wonderful relationships have blossomed within the student community.

But if there are good changes, there are also those bad ones.

One of those changes is the growing problem of ruined friendships. Peer pressure have taken its toll on some of the friendships I thought were gonna last. Break-ups of big and small factions, misunderstanding between the best of friends…this sort of plague has scourged the student body. Of course, some have been able to survive this, like Raven Baxter and her best friends, Eddie and Chelsea. But since every group of friends is different, not all friendships are saved. I bet you're asking why I'm talking about this. It's because of the intrigue that hit me, when one of the strongest friendships I know suddenly disappeared into nothing more than a memory for the student body.

Alana, Muffy and Loca. Loca, Alana and Muffy. Muffy, Loca and Alana.

No matter how you rearrange these three names, they'll always stick together. They'll always sound the same. For those of you who do not know, this group of friends was the most feared bully party in our school.

Muffy, the Peppy Princess of the group, was the expert in the name-calling and nuisance department. Being a perky prep, she could be somewhat of a bubblehead and could do you in with just a few of her name-calling skills. Loca, on the other hand, went for the "direct approach". She was the traditional "give-me-your-lunch money-or-else-you're-gonna-get-it" bully, always threatening people with her intimidating fists.

I once crossed paths with this girl...and she was shocked when I told her,
"Those who cross my path suffer even more pain on my part when they ever did from you, Muffy and Alana."

And when I say very lucky, I mean it. According to her, I "was too tough for even a bully to pick on".

And of course, there was Alana, the leader. She was the Queen of Mean, and anyone stupid enough to provoke her was surely going to suffer in a burning pit of fire for the whole year. And maybe even the next.

They always stuck together, as if conjoined by a super strong glue. There wasn't a time when I saw even one of them apart from the group. I have known them since my friend Joey Wheeler and I came to this school. But almost everyone else say they got together as a group in the second grade. The Terrible Trio, as we call them, always off somewhere causing trouble and mischief. But despite the deplorable reputation of theirs, they are still one of the most popular and well-respected parties in the school. I've never seen them fight before...and I've always doubted that they ever had a misunderstanding. They always seemed so together…as if nothing could ever separate them. I always thought their friendship could surpass anything.

But I was wrong.

After enduring countless complaints regarding Alana and her posse, the school had to report Alana to her parents and recommended her to spend some time in a more…"stringent" environment. It was, according to them, "to help shape Alana's jagged repute".

Thus, Alana had to go to military school. She had to leave her school, her life…and her friends behind. It was hard for Alana, Muffy and Loca. For Alana, it was losing the solace her friends give her, and for Muffy and Loca, it was losing their beloved leader. They made a promise to one another that no matter what happens, they will always stick together – through "rain or shine, through sleet and snow, through gross boyfriends and low allowances…"

It was a promise of true friendship.

I caught sight of the exact moment when Alana had to leave for military school. Muffy and Loca were outside her house, saying their final farewells to their friend. Alana was crying, holding a suitcase in one hand, and was hugging Muffy with the other. Loca tried hard to not let her tears stream down, but failed to do so. After the heart-breaking scenario, Alana boarded their car and drove off to the sinister military school.

What's worse about the situation is that the thing I feared most has come true. The inseparable Terrible Trio has been broken.

Those events soon led Muffy and Loca to become temporary social outcasts, demoralized from the loss of their leader. They felt so alone and naked without Alana…they knew they would be nothing without her. Not just then, but even now.

But soon enough, things started to look up, for along came Bianca. Now, Bianca, she was different…when I thought Alana's the absolute worst…this girl came along. She was ten times worse than Muffy and Loca's former leader. According to Muffy, "Bianca's so bad, she got kicked out of military school!"

The rumors instantly started flying around in the school, infecting every conversation like a highly contagious virus.